Marriage Not Under the Care of the Meeting

Marriage of members apart from the meeting community

Members who marry outside the meeting should promptly inform the meeting of their marriage. It is then the task of the meeting to assign members to visit the newly married couple—or, if they live far away, to write to them—and to express the meeting’s continuing interest and care. Non-member marriage partners should be made welcome and invited to attend meetings for worship and business and other meeting activities if they live within reach of the meeting.

Meetings may offer a place of worship and other assistance at the request of Friends from a distance who wish to be married there but under the care of their home meeting. Communication between meetings assures the proper clearness process and helps in the oversight of the wedding.

Marriage of non-members

There are occasions when non-members request marriage with the help of a meeting, using the Friends marriage ceremony. Since Friends hold marriage to be under divine guidance, the couple should be fully aware and agreeable to the nature and procedures of marriage for Friends. Meetings are encouraged to consider in advance what services they can offer, and to look into the legal aspects of marriage of non-members, so that when such requests are made, they can be considered realistically and in a timely fashion.

Table of Contents

Editions
First adopted in 1955, Faith & Practice was revised in 1972. After 25 years and numerous reprintings, it was revised in 1997 and again revised in 2002, with updates in the section on Yearly Meeting structures and a new section of biographical notes.

Ongoing Discernment
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting appoints a Faith and Practice Revision Group to periodically review and revise Faith and Practice. We revise Faith and Practice from time to time in order to reflect continuing spiritual discernment, incorporate new governance structure and practices and generally bring the book “up to date.”

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About Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

Philadelphia Yearly Meeting is a Quaker faith community, an association of over 100 Quaker meetings, and an organization - all working together to nurture Quaker faith and practice in today’s world.

Quakerism is a faith of personal experience and direct communion with God, a faith of continuing revelation; and a faith of living our values in the secular world. All who seek to deepen their spiritual lives are welcome!